The UNLV Runnin' Rebels Are "Going To Be Tested" On The Road Against The Utah State Aggies

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team has a tough game in front of them tonight on the road against the 15 - 2 Utah State Aggies. Utah State currently sits at 6 - 1 in the Mountain West Conference, while the Rebels are 4 - 2. Needless to say, the Aggies are heavy favorites to win this game. The line is set with Utah State giving -16.5 points. The first prediction we will be covering for this game comes from Joshua Nunn of Action Network. This one isn't overly positive but more positive than most.

Action Network On The UNLV Runnin' Rebels @ Utah State Aggies

"Utah State has slowed the tempo considerably in league play while seeing every conference game but one end with 66 possessions or less. UNLV has run some tempo at times this season, but the Rebs have slowed the pace in MWC play, and their last time out they played a game to 56 possessions against San Jose State.

I would assume the Utah State defense shows up here, as it was humbled in its last outing. This unit ranks 45th in overall defensive efficiency, per KenPom’s rankings, and is eighth in steals forced.

UNLV is going to be tested in the half-court, and while its offense has been good this season against the lower-echelon teams in the MWC, executing on the road is a different story.

UNLV has defended well on the interior and neither team desires to shoot a ton of 3-point shots. Utah State should be methodical about working the ball into the paint, and UNLV matches up decently well with Hamilton and Jacob Bannarbie in the post.

If UNLV can keep its big men out of foul trouble, it can muck this game up enough on the defensive end to keep the Utah State scoring output lower and hang in there.

I don’t think we'll see enough possessions for this one to get over this total. Utah State will be challenged to show up defensively, and I believe it'll respond at home.

Watch for this game to finish with 67-69 possessions and finish under the posted total."

While we don't have an exact score here, it's clear that he believes that the Aggies will win a low-scoring game, in a closer game than projected by Vegas. Even in a loss it would be great to see the Rebels be competitive on the road in a brutal conference matchup. We believe that, with the way that both these teams have been playing as of late, the Rebels have a fighting chance in this one if they can keep it close going into the final 10 minutes of the game.

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